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Tag: Activism

Hemp Road Trip Documentary Turns Cross Country Journey Into Powerful Pro-Hemp Film
The Hemp Road Trip crew holds a U.S. flag made from hemp in front of the Iowa State Capitol. (Hemp Road Trip)
July 19, 2017
Kit
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Hemp Road Trip Documentary Turns Cross Country Journey Into Powerful Pro-Hemp Film

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

For a year and a half, Rick Trojan III and his friends traveled around the country demanding the legalization of hemp.

“We did 48 states total the last 18 months,” he told us when we talked to him by phone earlier this week.

Inspired by his experiences as a hemp grower in Colorado, Trojan wanted the Hemp Road Trip to show the nation why this valuable crop should be legal nationwide, and educate people about its numerous benefits. He found the biggest barrier was overcoming decades of fear driven by the War on Drugs, but most of those he met were open to listening and learning.

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Support Kit’s Journalism During The Texas Legislature Special Session
Support Resistance Journalism! Image shows activists gathering in the Texas Capitol in July 2013. (Kit O'Connell)
July 17, 2017
Kit
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Support Kit’s Journalism During The Texas Legislature Special Session

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and Website

First off, thanks as always to all my supporters!

On Tuesday, the Texas legislature will re-open for a special session in which the Republicans hope to force through a host of regressive laws targeting transgender rights, abortion access, public workers’ unions, education funding and much more. 

In response, activists and organizers are forming massive coalitions and planning near daily protests, rallies, and lobbying on behalf of progressive causes. Texas, once again, will be a proving ground for both the inhumane agenda of the far right and the resistance tactics of the left.

Read moreSupport Kit’s Journalism During The Texas Legislature Special Session
Diversity Of Tactics Keeps Your Enemies Off Balance (Gonzo Notes)
A clown in a red wig, painted white face and exaggerated painted black lips, wearing an orange turtleneck, speaks into a bullhorn at a protest on behalf of migrant workers. London, February 20, 2017. (Flickr / Darren Johnson / iDJ Photography, CC NC ND license)
July 10, 2017
Kit
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Diversity Of Tactics Keeps Your Enemies Off Balance (Gonzo Notes)

Posted in Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, and Occupy Wall Street

September 17, 2012: the financial district was in chaos.

On the morning of the one year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, marking the day that tents first went up in Zuccotti Park, activists flooded Wall Street for hours.

Some held birthday parties in bank lobbies until the police came. Others took the furniture out of buildings and threw it in the street. One group I knew blocked traffic with a makeshift donut stand, offering dumpster-dived pastries and coffee to the NYPD.

Read moreDiversity Of Tactics Keeps Your Enemies Off Balance (Gonzo Notes)
A Brief Timeline Of Fascist Activity In Austin, Texas Since The 2016 Election
Antifascist activists face off with Texas Department of Public Safety State Troopers in riot armor at the June 10, 2017 counterprotest to the "March Against Sharia." (Flickr / Ann Harkness, CC license)
June 26, 2017
Kit
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A Brief Timeline Of Fascist Activity In Austin, Texas Since The 2016 Election

Posted in Austin, Creative Commons, and Journalism

Summer 2016 – present: Emboldened by the increasing success of Donald Trump and the “alt-right” fascist agenda, white supremacist groups step up recruiting and propaganda efforts on college campuses. Racist posters & graffiti tied to white supremacist groups like Vanguard America and Identity Evropa routinely appear on and around UT Austin.

November 19, 2016: The hate group “White Lives Matter” stages a protest outside the Texas Capitol to coincide with the unveiling of the African American History Memorial. The white supremacists are met by an overwhelming force of counter protesters, but are defended by Austin Police Department horse cops and Texas DPS State Troopers in armored riot gear. A handful of arrests are made but the fascist event is effectively surrounded and shut down.

March 4, 2017: The far right rallies at Woolridge Square park as part of a national “March 4 Trump” day of action on “Confederate Flag Day.” Local organizers include known fascist Jennifer Drabbant. Trump supporters happily march and rally side by side with neo-nazis and fascist 4chan trolls. A small counter-protest is surrounded by violent fascists, including Gregorio Rendon who assaults activist and gonzo journalist Kit O’Connell by slamming him head-first into a lamp post. Kit is arrested by Austin Police Department and charged with misdemeanor assault, while Gregorio is briefly held in cuffs than released without charges. Kit is admitted to the hospital with injuries to his head, arm and leg.

Read moreA Brief Timeline Of Fascist Activity In Austin, Texas Since The 2016 Election
June 22, 2017
Kit
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The Democrats’ ‘Resistance Summer’ Is Really Resistance To Change

Posted in Act Out!, Creative Commons, Journalism, and Video

We’ve got a hot summer ahead, and I don’t just mean record-breaking temperatures thanks to climate change.

Assuming the fuck-ups in the GOP clown car, currently careening out of control across our nation, can get their act together, we’re poised to see devastating legislation targeting some of the most vulnerable people in America. People are angry, and ready to active against the system, in a way we haven’t seen in years.

And huddling in corner number two — are the Democrats. And despite their feeble attempts at both resistance and distinct alternatives, their proposed “Resistance Summer” is designed to attract new activists and bring a flood of new liberal voters to the polls in upcoming elections.

Despite the catchy, chic, goes-with-a-beach-tote name, we’ve seen this sort of thing before from the Democrats. Indeed, while the party claims to support progressive causes, Democrats have a long history of sucking the life out of grassroots movements, taking their momentum for revolutionary change and directing the energy back into the American status quo at the ballot box.

Read moreThe Democrats’ ‘Resistance Summer’ Is Really Resistance To Change
You’re Never ‘Just’ A Journalist: Reporting From The Left & The Far Right (Gonzo Notes)
A photographer focuses his camera on a subject. (Unsplash / Dương Trần Quốc. free image)
June 20, 2017
Kit
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You’re Never ‘Just’ A Journalist: Reporting From The Left & The Far Right (Gonzo Notes)

Posted in Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

It’s a gift to be a journalist in this moment.

Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves. It’s the only way to get through.

Freelancers (like I am right now) spend every month counting our pennies, making sure we’ll make rent and have a little left over for food and coffee and the other vices of our profession. For those lucky few with a steady job, they’re wondering how long until downsizing and budget cuts will put them out on the street.

In addition to journalism’s grim financial picture, we’re finding ourselves targeted by the government and by far-right fascists for violence and repression in a way we haven’t faced in decades.

Read moreYou’re Never ‘Just’ A Journalist: Reporting From The Left & The Far Right (Gonzo Notes)